The second of the United Nation's sustainable development goals - ZERO HUNGER - states that “Investments in agriculture are crucial to increasing the capacity for agricultural productivity and sustainable food production systems are necessary to help alleviate the perils of hunger”.
An end to hunger in a world with theoretically enough food to feed an ever-growing population. Possible or not?
A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to feed the 815 million people who are undernourished today and the additional 2 billion people expected to be undernourished by 2050.
But what does this change look like?
Agroforestry practices, crop breeding, urban farming, large scale hydroponic systems, and innovation in rain-fed agriculture are but a few considerations in effecting the change that will be required to move towards sustainable food production and distribution.
The challenges facing first world and third world communities have for long been vastly different. However, the growing global population, increasing urban poverty, climate change, and natural disaster are all threatening to narrow this divide.
Action on community, municipal, national, and global levels are all needed to foster the changes in practices and mindset that are required to ultimately end hunger.
INITIATIVES...
PARDAR
Ottawa's "Just Food" is a non-profit organization that supports community based agriculture - a keystone of sustainable practices. With the idea of "starting in our own backyard", we are committed to supporting "Plant-A-Row Donate-A-Row (PARDAR) - a Just Food endeavor that cultivates produce to donate to the Ottawa Food Bank.
#PROJECT Grown in Ontario
In this day and age, we as consumers are seemingly removed from our what we choose to eat. The majority of us buy our food from grocery stores and do not take the extra time to learn where it comes from or how it got to us. This loss of familiarity with our food - and the entire process involved in getting it from seed to plate - leads to a non recognition of the reasons why we should put in the effort to deliberately purchase Ontario produce. Consequently, we often make uninformed food related decisions at the expense of our local economy, our environment and - whether or not we realize it - our personal satisfaction and connection to our community.
We are preparing to launch a newsletter that highlights the concept of "grow local, buy local" by following the story of a seasonal crop from farm to shelf and discussing the invaluable roles played by those along the way. By adding a personable and transparent sentiment to the food production system, we hope to inspire confidence and a connection to Ontario grown produce. Our goal is to make Ontarians proud to enjoy the fresh and delicious produce our province’s farmers cultivate and ultimately place value in supporting the vision of community and a healthy environment.